Stars impress at Dubai Open

by AHMED HUSSAIN
Special contributor
DUBAI, (CAJ News) — THE 2026 Dubai Open Swimming Championships wrapped up a thrilling weekend of competition at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Sunday, with top international swimmers delivering standout performances in a meet that served as a key early‑season test for elite athletes.

The three‑day long course event brought together a strong field of competitors representing multiple continents and marked one of the first major international swim meets of the 2026 calendar year.

Among the headline results was a dominant showing from Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, the Olympic medalist who claimed multiple gold medals and set a new meet record in the women’s 50‑metre freestyle.

Haughey clocked 24.67 seconds to take the sprint title, the fastest time of the weekend and the only sub‑25‑second swim in the field.

Russian swimmer Aleksandra Kuznetsova** took silver with a time of 25.40, while Great Britain’s Lauren Cox earned bronze in 26.06.

Haughey continued her strong run in the women’s 100‑metre freestyle on Sunday evening, touching first in 52.77 seconds.

Kuznetsova followed with 54.94 for silver, and a 16‑year‑old teammate from Russia clocked 56.52 to round out the medal podium.

On the men’s side, Russia’s Egor Kornev was a standout sprinter, winning the 50‑metre freestyle in 21.72 seconds, ahead of Australia’s Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers (22.02) and Egypt’s Omar Radwan (22.51).

In other finals, British swimmer James Guy captured the men’s 400‑metre freestyle gold in 3:49.27, with 19‑year‑old Rohayem Tolba of Egypt taking silver and Australia’s Tommy Lane earning bronze.

The championships also featured strong racing across strokes and distances. South Africa’s Lara van Niekerk claimed top honours in the women’s 100‑metre breaststroke, while top international competitors filled the rest of the finals, highlighting the depth of talent at the event.

Prize money at the Dubai Open is capped at a total of USD 25,000, with top individual event winners in the senior open division earning USD 300 for first place, USD 150 for second, and USD 50 for third, supplemented by additional awards for overall point leaders.

Looking ahead, international swimmers will look toward the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Silk Road Tour later this year, which will span multiple cities such as Baku, Tashkent, and Astana, offering significantly larger prize pools and broad competition as part of the global 2026 circuit.

– CAJ News